The present invention relates to a shutter system for dwelling houses, apartments, condominiums and other buildings. The system of the invention further relates to shutter units which are highly ornamental, functional for the purpose of shading, and which can be disposed to a position suitable for using the shutter unit or units as an awning.
Shutters which are presently available are designed to be either ornamental or functional. Both of these conventional types have disadvantages.
The ornamental-type shutter is usually integrally molded in a single piece. Its purpose is decorative and therefore an ornamental shutter is fixedly mounted to the side of a window or door. Being so affixed, an ornamental shutter affords no shading from sunlight to the occupants of a building.
Functional shutters, on the other hand, are movable either in a roll-up or foldable manner. When in use, functional shutters are placed in front of an aperture such as a glass door or a window, for example, for the purpose of shading the aperture from the sun. When not in use, the shutter is removed to a position away from the aperture. Such an arrangement often has the disadvantage of blocking out all the light and air when the shutters are closed and letting in too much light or draft when the shutters are in their open position.
While it is occasionally desirable to an occupant of a building to have the total blockage of light provided by some conventional functional shutters, for example, to protect his privacy, there are other times when mere partial shading from the direct rays of the sun is all that is desired.
To overcome this disadvantage of functional shutters, a building owner may elect to install awnings. However, awnings, being generally made of canopies suspended above a window or a door, often lack aesthetic appeal. Awnings also do not protect the privacy of the occupants of a building by obstructing the view into the building as shutters do.
Installation of both ownings and shutters would present inconveniences to a building owner, such as excessive expenditure. What is needed, therefore, is a system which increases the versatility of functional shutters by incorporating an awning function.